The Phillies announced this morning that their latest wave of testing again revealed no new positive Covid-19 tests. The team is traveling to New York to play the Yankees in the Bronx tonight, per the announcement. Jake Arrieta is lined up to face Gerrit Cole in tonight’s series opener, and Aaron Nola is starting tomorrow night’s game, per the team.
It’ll be the first game for the Phillies since last Sunday’s game against the Marlins. The Miami organization housed Major League Baseball’s first team outbreak, prompting the Phillies’ season to be paused as the league conducted additional testing and contact tracing. The Phillies did wind up with positive tests among the team’s coaching and clubhouse staff, which might have served to further delay their return to the field, but their players have consistently tested negative. They’ll get back to game action tonight in New York but are well behind schedule, with just three games in the books to date.
In a season that would’ve only included six scheduled off-days, the loss of a full week right out of the gate is particularly tough for the Phillies. They’ll seek to make up for lost time with doubleheaders and some added games on what would’ve otherwise been days off. As it stands, they’re set for a four-game, home-and-home series against the Yankees this week before hosting the Braves at Citizens Bank Park next weekend.
ugh. just as long as VV isnt lined up for it.
Maybe this is hours you bypass the third and fourth starters.
Any word on if Spencer Howard coming up soon or not?
Nope. Don’t want to rush him.
Interesting ok. He was my spec stash in my fantasy league (deep enough this makes sense) and they had a report speculating he would be called up to pitch at the end of the week (before their cancellations obviously)
I feel this season could be an opportunity to let Howard and Medina take the inevitable lumps young starters usually must endure while figuring things out. As much as I like Velasquez and Pivetta’s skills, they haven’t progressed. I’d let them pitch out of the pen behind those kids.
Arrieta is starting tonight. So they’re not bypassing starts. To be fair, these guys need to pitch. I don’t see how any team in baseball can overcome a full week + off while the rest of the teams are essentially playing without days off. Phillies will have to get in the groove all over again, and they didn’t look that great against the Marlins to begin with. It seems an insurmountable task, especially for a team that already had quite a few problems. Arrieta vs. Cole. No easy task. May as well jump right into it.
do we have a word on Eflin? i really think we need him to be able to do anything this year and the fact that theyre bypassing only him concerns me.
They haven’t announced Tuesday’s started. It would normally be Eflin, but at this point they may go back to Nola. Maybe Eflin can take VV’s spot? VV looked so good in spring training though. I’m hoping his Marlins start was a hiccup, but I’m afraid it’s same old VV.
They did announce Nola as the starter tomorrow.
There we go. It must have updated recently. Makes sense.
To be fair, they haven’t looked good against the Marlins in years. For some reason, the fish just want to play decent baseball against this team. But, yeah, that wasn’t a good momentum-building opening series for this sprint. Also, I met Von Hayes as a kid, while he had a voluptuous, hairsprayed 1980’s lady on each arm. He gave me an autograph and a wink as I stood, mouth agape, at his impressive situation. He was forever my favorite player after that.
Nice thughand! I met him briefly when Mike Schmidt got inducted into the Hall of Fame. I got his autograph. He was my favorite player growing up as well. Seems like a real nice guy!
Wasn’t Von Hayes the guy Pete Rose called “ 5 for 1” when Phillies got him from the Tribe?
Yup. The infamous 5 for 1 trade. It was panned at the time, but considering Hayes steady numbers in Philly, I actually think the trade worked in their favor. Here’s a cool article: https://talksportsphilly.com/2014/05/five-for-one-trade/
By the way, I’m from Dallas, and went to a game at Citizens Bank Park 3 years ago during my tour of all 30 MLB parks, and was very impressed with park, and how nice the folks there treated us. My compliments.
Great story thughand!
Don’t play for a week after only playing 3 games and get to face Gerrit Cole.
Life aint fair.
It’s to the Yankees benefit though so nbd, at this rate Cole is going to make 20 starts in 60 games.
It’ll start backing up on them as missed games now turn into doubleheader’s later. He’ll still need standard days off, and DH’s complicate that.
As a fan I agree, but as a player, I’m sure you want to play the best all the time. Got to beat the best to be the best. While the Yankees haven’t won any rings lately, I think this team is considered the cream of the crop in the East.
agreed there. you’d love to not face Cole, but if you want to win a title you have to beat pitchers of that caliber.
The phillies arent a title caliber team darkside.
the goal is to get as far as you can, and to get anywhere in the playoffs you have to beat good pitchers. this team’s goal shouldn’t be to only get to the playoffs simply because they arent likely to get any further.
Everyone is a title caliber team, especially this year. The best teams on paper rarely win it all.
You said everyone is a title caliber team. Are you kidding?
I mean in a 60 game sprint. Why not? Would I beat on Baltimore, Boston or Pittsburgh? Nope, but stranger things have happened.
At this point the whole thing is ridiculous…you’ve got Atlanta and the Mets playing non-stop since the season started, Washington with a couple of days off and the Phillies and Marlins have 3 total games.
quite frankly its just good to see game action. if the Phillies dont get a minimum game number to qualify with win% i wolnt be too torn up. its 2020, any games are a win.
Basically the Fish & the Phillies will be playing doubleheaders the whole month. Hopefully their all healthy now or getting there.
Yes, we finally get to see whose better tonight. Cole or Nola…lol
It’s Cole vs Arrieta. Not Nola.
Cole pitches TONIGHT and NOLA pitches TOMORROW. I’d rather see which one pitches better on the SAME NIGHT.
i think it was sarcasm
I mean Cole is the better Ace without a doubt, but I wouldn’t laugh at Nola. He’s legit despite last start.
Cole Hamels or Cole Irvin?
Apparently there’s a big contract middle finger injury making the rounds. Just sayin’.
No, not really you don’t. Cole is going to pitch against a team that has had no opportunity to get any kind of rhythm at all and to no fault of there own. They’ve barely been through batting practice. Nola is pitching against a team that HAS had the time and opportunity to find a rhythm and stretch themselves out.
It’s pretty much a Phillies team in spring training against a Yankees team that is all fired up and ready to go. Could you try and be a classier brand of Yankees fan? If the Braves were playing the Phillies, the last thing I would do is brag or talk smack right now.
When do the Cards re-start?
The Phils are about to have yet another doubleheader added. Tuesday night’s game in NY is almost guaranteed to be rained out based on the tropical storm.
GL Phillies and their fans. Going to be another frustrating week I suspect.
Let’s see. Who hasn’t played in a week? Ok, let them play the yankees. Good one. Are the Marlins next? I hope the yankees go 59 and 1 and the postseason is cancelled. Or better, the whole miserable wretched team gets sick. Oh, never mind. MLB will come up with some way to rig it for them to win. What a joke.
the Phillies were lined up to play the Yankees last week. this was the most logical way to restructure the schedule.
I think you may be on to something. In fact, this whole pandemic may be fabricated by The Yankees and MLB solely to pad their WS totals. Ugh.
My last two words are “a joke”.
Whole thing seemed like a joke!
Yeah considering they’ve won only one World Series since 2000, it looks like MLB has been really trying to rig it for the Yanks every year. If they have, then they aren’t very good at rigging.
I’m a Braves fan so it’s my job to hate the Phillies but I just can’t right now. It has to be tough to start up in ST then stop. Then restart play for a little while and then stop again and then start one more time. That sort of thing makes it impossible to get any kind of rhythm going.
I hope the Phillies can overcome this but if they can’t, there won’t be any braying from me about it. If there is a contender that deserves a mulligan, it’s the Phillies.
Good sentiments, but I expect other teams are going to face these same hardships. This is going to be the hardest 60 game stretch ever. Not to mention the playoffs.
Maybe they will. No reason to believe another team can’t have an outbreak, obviously, but for the moment, the Phillies are unique in that they were the victim of a team outbreak that wasn’t even on there team while also being a contender.
I notice Kreckert didnt weigh in on this article. Hmm….wonder why?
Lets be reasonable, people….the wifi probably didnt penetrate the steel closet doors and 3 blankets he is under. Here is to hoping he is ok and in good health.
Cards cancel again —-
https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-schedule-altered-by-covid-19-18-total-games-postponed-including-cardinals-tigers-on-monday/
As a Phillie fan I’ll be watching. While it lasts, it’s better than nothing I suppose. Still, there’s nothing in any of this to feel optimism, or encouragement about.
You know there are pills for chronic depression.
True.
Too bad there’s no pill to help you stop being apathetic, subhuman garbage. Maybe someday…
How many blankets you hiding under? I guessed 3. More? You have a thunder blanket too, Captain Panic Monger?
This is going be a colossal ass whooping for the Phillies.
yep, this is why we never should have picked up Guerra